The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Virtual Reality Use in Inured Athletes

In this study, which aimed to develop a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) protocol enriched with Virtual Reality (VR) to address the psychological responses that arise after ACL surgery, and to examine the effectiveness of this protocol. The effectiveness of the protocol was assessed using pre-test, post-test, and two follow-up measurements with the Re-Injury Anxiety Inventory (RIAI), the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS), the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), the Athletic Injury Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (AISEQ), the Return to Sport After Serious Injury Questionnaire (RSSIQ), and the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport Scale (ACL-RSI). Anxiety levels during VR exposure sessions were measured through biofeedback and the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS).

In this study, which aimed to develop a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) protocol enriched with Virtual Reality (VR) to address the psychological responses that arise after ACL surgery, and to examine the effectiveness of this protocol. The protocol was developed in 5 stages and a randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 athletes to test its effectiveness. The study consisted of 3 experimental and 2 control groups. One of the control group was a plasebo control group.The effectiveness of the protocol was assessed using pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements with the Re-Injury Anxiety Inventory (RIAI), the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS), the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), the Athletic Injury Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (AISEQ), the Return to Sport After Serious Injury Questionnaire (RSSIQ), and the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport Scale (ACL-RSI). Anxiety levels during VR exposure sessions were measured through biofeedback and the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS).